Glossary

A complex process that sets up a new version of a questionnaire definition as a live project in either Test or Active mode.

A case that has been entered by an operator but not forwarded to another user in file form.

A programming model that defines an application level interface to OLE DB. It exposes all of the functionality of the underlying OLE DB data provider to the consumer application in an easy-to-use and productive way.

See ActiveX Data Object (ADO).

An alternative name used instead of a primary name.

The phase of data collection whereby raw data is cleaned, tabulated, analyzed, and so on.

The process of validating the identity of a user or server.

The user responsible for creating or modifying a document or requirement.

The method of using an automatic process to sort responses to open-ended questions into categories.

An axis specification that is used for a variable when the variable is tabulated in UNICOM Intelligence Reporter - Survey Tabulation or UNICOM Intelligence Reporter.

A group of values that have been organized into categories, based on their numeric variables.

A group of records or data processing jobs brought together for processing or transmission.

A sheet that can be printed in the Interview Console and provides information about a data entry batch.

A block of bytes of data (for example, the body of a message) that has no discernible meaning, but is treated as one entity that cannot be interpreted.

A mapping that is located between a field in a table and a variable.

See binary large object (BLOB).

A group of one or more questions.

Characteristic of an expression or variable that can only have a value of true or false.

A special element that is defined in the variable itself, rather than in the variable's axis expression.

An expression that is not constant, but whose value depends upon other values. To be evaluated, a calculated expression must obtain and compute values from other sources, normally in other fields or rows.

See computer assisted personal interviewing (CAPI).

The column from a punch card that was used in early computers to read information. Punch cards typically contained 80 columns of 12 rows.

The basic unit of analysis. In a data set based on a simple survey, a case generally corresponds to a respondent.

The data that is recorded for each case. In a market research survey, the case data stores the answers given by each respondent.

A model that defines access to the case data that is stored in a standard database or in a proprietary format.

A data source component (DSC) that exposes case data to the Provider.

A label that is applied to a case by the UNICOM Intelligence system that indicates its current level of completion.

See computer assisted self-interviewing (CASI).

A question that has a limited number of categories with a choice of possible answers. Categorical questions can be single response or multiple response.

A response that has a limited number of categories that represent the possible responses. Categorical responses can be single response or multiple response.

A variable that has a limited number of distinct values or categories, such as a variable that is based on a question that has a predefined set of answers. Categorical variables can be single response or multiple response.

1 One possible answer in a set of answers that are defined in the category list of a categorical or grid question.

The placement of categories among the columns of a category list that is displayed in more than one column or row.

A list of predefined answers that are in a categorical or grid question. The respondent selects the answers to the question from this list. For example, a list of brand names is a category list.

The answer portion of categorical, grid, and numeric grid Looks. The category replication controls which category rows in a Look are repeated when the Look is applied to a question.

See computer assisted personal interviewing (CAPI).

See Case Data Model (CDM).

See case data source component (CDSC).

An area that is reserved for information that can contain any of the characters in the character set.

A Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) that identifies a COM component. Each COM component has its CLSID in the Registry so that it can be loaded by other applications.

See class identifier (CLSID).

A particular assignment of code points to graphic characters. Within a given code page, a code point can have only one specific meaning. A code page also identifies how undefined code points are handled.

The process by which the responses to open-ended questions are sorted into categories.

A categorical variable that stores the responses to an open-ended question after they have been sorted into categories.

See Component Object Model (COM).

A binary file, such as .dll, .ocx, and some .exe files, that supports the COM standard for providing objects. COM components contain code for one or more class factories, COM classes, registry-entry mechanisms, loading code, and so on.

A component that provides a bridge between COM components and the .NET Framework.

In SQL, a symbol used in comparison expressions to specify a relationship between two values. Comparison operators are = (equal to), <> (not equal to), < (less than), > (greater than), <= (less than or equal to), and >= (greater than or equal to).

A software architecture from DEC and Microsoft, allowing interoperation between ObjectBroker and OLE (Object Linking and Embedding). Microsoft later evolved COM into DCOM.

A number of related questions, grouped for presentation purposes, that share a category list.

A compound that describes how questions, that are to be presented as a compound question, are to appear.

An interviewing method in which an interviewer, equipped with a computer to record the respondent's answers, meets face-to-face with the respondent.

An interviewing method in which respondents use computers to record their answers to questionnaires.

An interviewing method in which an interviewer, equipped with a computer to record the respondent's answers, interviews the respondent by telephone.

An application that receives and processes messages.

The number of cases that satisfy the row and column conditions for each cell. If the table is weighted, the counts are also weighted.

A software system that controls the creation, organization, and modification of a database and the access to the data that is stored within it.

Information that is printed in a paper questionnaire to help data entry personnel enter the respondents' answers correctly. This notation can be for card column-based data entry or for variable-based data entry.

A set of component objects that are designed specifically to facilitate data transformations.

A series of COM components and interfaces that allow an OLE DB consumer to access data that is stored in a standard database or in a proprietary format. The consumer accesses the data source through a data source component that is specific to a particular kind of data source. Case data is accessed by using the Case Data Model (CDM), and metadata is accessed through the Metadata Model (MDM).

The means by which an application accesses data from a database.

A COM component that is used to expose data in the data source to the Data Model. Case data is exposed to the Provider by a case data source component (CDSC), and metadata is exposed to the metadata document object by a metadata source component (MDSC). If the data is not in a format that is supported by an existing data source component, a component must be created.

See database management system (DBMS).

A value that is associated with a statistical test that is used in determining the p-value or observed significance level.

A file that contains project-level information, case-level data, or both that is created by one operator for transfer to another operator that will load the file onto their copy of Interviewer.

A variable that is created from other variables by using an expression. For example, numeric derived variable can be created to show the sum of the values that are stored in two or more other numeric variables.

A set of component objects that are used for managing the settings and configurations for projects and applications.

See Data Management Object Model (DMOM).

The repetition of data from a higher level so that it can be represented at a child level.

See data source component (DSC).

A base that can optionally be used in statistical tests on weighted tables. The base is designed to reduce the likelihood of the statistical tests producing significant results because the weighting has made adjustments to the data. The base is calculated by dividing the squared sum of weights for all of the respondents in the table by the sum of the squared weights.

A component of a variable. In a categorical variable, there is one element for each category and there may be other elements as well, such as an element that displays a subtotal during analysis.

A specific phase that a project or case is in that indicates the type of entry that has been done or is currently in progress.

A loop that can be viewed in a flattened format.

A constant numerical value that can be assigned to an element for use in statistical calculations.

A device or program that separates data, signals, or material in accordance with specified criteria.

A construction of the name of an item and the names of any items in which the name is nested. The full name is useful in indicating where an item fits in a hierarchy. For example, if a variable is nested within a loop, the variable’s full name will include the name of the loop. Brackets [ ] indicate the iterations of a loop or grid. A single period (full stop) . indicates a parent/child relationship.

A second pass of entry where all data that was entered in the Initial Entry is entered again by an operator.

A footer that is applied to all of the tables in the table document. Any other footers that have been defined for any of the tables appear after the global footer.

A header that is applied to all of the tables in the table document. Any other headers that have been defined for any of the tables appear after the global header.

A routing instruction that informs the interviewer or respondent which questionnaire item to go to next based on the answer to the current question.

A special categorical question that consists of several subquestions that share a category list. Grid questions often ask respondents to choose a rating on a predefined scale for a number of products in a list.

Data that is organized on computer systems using a hierarchy of containers.

A questionnaire item that does not ask for a response, such as greetings, section headings, and closing statements.

A first pass of entry, where all available data is entered by an operator.

A numeric question that permits only whole numbers as answers.

A numeric variable that holds an integer value for each case, such as the response to a question that asks respondents for their exact age or the number of cars they own.

A filter that applies to all tables and select respondents based on the interview status. For example, an interview filter can be used to exclude test data and interviews that timed out.

A script that natively supports market research data types and expression evaluation.

In computer input devices, the unique numeric value generated when a key is pressed.

A set of one or more related attributes that work together as one logical step in a hierarchy. Attributes can function in one or more roles in a level.

A data collection interview method that is conducted in person, such as on-site interviews or computer assisted personal interviews (CAPI).

An option at login that indicates that a user is not connected to a server when accessing Interviewer.

A user that is not connected to a server.

A file used to record changes made in a system.

The recording of data about specific events on the system, such as errors.

A blueprint for how questionnaire items are to appear in a printed questionnaire. A Look controls which information held in the questionnaire definition for the questionnaire item is displayed and controls how that information is positioned and formatted.

A collection of Looks that are designed to be used together to format a questionnaire.

A set of questions that are to be asked more than once. In a categorical loop, the number of times that the loop is to be iterated is controlled by the categories in a category list. For example, a set of questions can be asked for each product in a product list. In a numeric loop, the number of times that the loop is to be iterated is controlled by a numeric expression. See also slice.

A version of the metadata in which the structure of the case data has changed. For example, the structure can change with the addition or deletion of questions or categories, or the changing of a variable's data type, minimum or maximum value, or name.

A numeric value that the Metadata Model (MDM) assigns to each unique category full name in the metadata.

A letter, number, symbol, character, or group of characters that is marked to indicate a respondent's answer to a categorical or grid question.

A guide to recording answers to open-ended and numeric questions in a specific way. For example, a mask for a numeric question can specify the number of digits before and after the decimal symbol. A mask for open-ended questions can specify the maximum number of characters and other alphanumeric formatting.

See Metadata Model (MDM).

See metadata source component (MDSC).

Data that describes the characteristics of data; descriptive data.

The part of the Data Model that defines access to metadata that is stored in a repository, XML file, or proprietary format. An important part of the model is the MDM document, which is populated by using the metadata source component (MDSC) to expose the metadata to the Provider, or by reading the metadata from a repository or XML file.

A data source component (DSC) that exposes metadata to the Provider.

A version of the metadata in which the changes affect only the metadata and not the case data. For example, change to custom properties or question and category texts.

Pertaining to one or more data collection methods that are to be employed simultaneously for a specific project, survey, routing, or all three.

Pertaining to a question characteristic that allows for one or more entries within an entry field.

A category that can be chosen with other categories in a category list in answer to a question.

A categorical variable that can have more than one value for each case, such as a variable that is based on a question to which the respondent can choose several answers from a predefined set of answers.

A helper variable that is used to store numeric data associated with a category.

An element in a multiple response variable that shows the number of respondents who chose one or more categories in a group of categories. A subtotal element for the same categories would show the number of responses given.

An entry by an operator that falls outside of the range of valid values configured during survey authoring. The entry requires additional action to redo or encode with another value.

A question that ties together a group of related subquestions that share a category list and that require numeric responses. For example, a question that asks respondents to enter the amount that they spent on various products in the last four months. The subquestions are “Amount spent in May,” “Amount spent in April,” and so on, and the categories are the product names.

A question that requires a numeric response.

A question type for the entry of non-categorical numeric values, such as quantities, years, and telephone numbers.

An application protocol developed by Microsoft Corporation that allows objects created by one application to be linked to or embedded in objects created by another application.

See Open Database Connectivity (ODBC).

Pertaining to a response that is given in response to a question that is outside of the respondent’s final routing. An off path response usually happens when a respondent realizes, after answering the question, that he or she incorrectly answered a previous question on which a routing decision was based, and then goes back to change the incorrect answer, thus taking a different route through the questionnaire. See also on path, routing control.

Pertaining to a response that is given in answer to a question that is within the final routing that the respondent takes through the questionnaire. See also off path, routing control.

A standard application programming interface (API) for accessing data in both relational and nonrelational database management systems. Using this API, database applications can access data stored in database management systems on a variety of computers even if each database management system uses a different data storage format and programming interface.

A question that asks respondents to reply in their own words, such as questions that ask respondents to enter their names, addresses, or opinions.

A category that allows respondents to enter an answer that is not on the category list.

A variable that stores the open-ended responses to an Other Specify category. These categories allow the respondent to enter an answer that is not on the category list.

A file that is comprised of projects, case data, or both that is created by one operator in Interviewer for transfer to another operator so that they can import it into their copy of Interviewer.

See pen and paper interviewing (PAPI).

A second pass of entry. Selected responses, which are configured by the author, from initial entry are entered again by an operator.

A record that provides participant information such as respondent ID, time zone, and so on.

One cycle of processing a body of data.

An interviewing method in which the interviewer, equipped with a paper questionnaire to record the respondent's answers, interviews the respondent in person.

An algorithm that calculates the number of records to dial. This number might be larger than the number of available interviewers.

The display of non-aggregated respondent data, that is, a list of the responses given to questions by individual respondents.

A survey and all of its associated files and actions.

A COM component with an OLE DB interface that exposes case data to the consumer by representing the data as a virtual table, which is populated by using data from a database or a proprietary data file. Data is exposed to the Provider by using a case data source component (CDSC).

A code that defines the response character location on a printed survey.

A string value that defines the punch characters that can be combined in a single column for a multiple response category (for example, &-0123456789, 0123456789XY, or 0123456789).

A description of a project in terms of the texts of the questions and their order, layout, and routing.

A mechanism for monitoring sample records as they move through the system. Each queue is a collection of respondents with a specific status code. For example, the Fresh queue might contain sample records that have not been used yet, and the Active queue might contain sample records whose interviews are in progress.

A requirement for the sample in terms of the numbers of respondents that have certain characteristics or combinations of characteristics such as age, gender, socioeconomic class, type of car owned, and so on.

Data that has not been processed or reduced.

A numeric question that permits a decimal number as an answer, such as a question that asks the respondent to guess the price of a product.

A variable that holds one real (decimal) value for each case. For example, the response from a question that asks respondents for their estimate of the price of a drink.

The texts that make up the list of possible responses to a categorical question or a grid question. See also text.

A method that is used to record a quantity or frequency that is associated with a response, for example, “Do you buy product A, product B, or product C? If so, how often do you buy the product?”

A variable that stores the responses to a question.

A category or subquestion list that is presented top-down to some of the respondents and reversed (bottom-up) to the others. Reversed presentation is typically incorporated in an attempt to reduce bias.

A job function that identifies the tasks that a user can perform and the resources to which a user has access. A user can be assigned one or more roles.

A category or subquestion list that is rotated, by one, for each respondent. For example, in a list of four categories, there would be four presentations: (1,2,3,4), (2,3,4,1), (3,4,1,2), (4,1,2,3).

A model for survey workflow, such as questions and logic, in the survey authoring tools.

A control that determines which item is presented next based on the answers to previous questions in computer assisted interviewing methods, such as an IF/THEN/ELSE statement. See also off path, on path.

An instruction that informs interviewers or respondents which item in a paper questionnaire they should go to next.

A group of prospective respondents.

The details of a prospective respondent, such as an ID, password, email address, and so on.

A database table that stores sample records.

A survey in which the respondent data is gathered without the aid of an interviewer. Respondents complete the questionnaires themselves and return them to the researcher.

A response list that is shared between different questions.

A card that presents information to respondents. For example, a show card can format a category list in a larger font so that interviewers can show the card to respondents instead of reading out loud the list of categories.

A call where a connection is achieved but no interviewers are free to take the call.

Pertaining to a question that allows for only one entry within an entry field.

A category that cannot be chosen with any other category in the category list in response to a question.

A categorical variable that can have only one value for each case, such as a variable based on a question that requires the respondent to choose one answer from a predefined set of answers.

Pertaining to a configurable data entry feature that enables the system to automatically insert a defined data value into fields that the system skips based on previous responses and implemented logic.

A single iteration of a grid or loop. See also loop.

A sound that is emitted by a user’s computer, enabled by UNICOM Intelligence, to notify a user to an error or discrepancy that requires attention before proceeding.

A text helper variable that holds the name of a file that contains an image or a recording of a question response, such as a .tiff file that contains a scanned image of a hand-written response or a sound file that contains a recording of an open-ended response in a CATI interview.

Keycode and analysis values that are configured for standard categorical responses for “Don't Know”, “Refused”, and “No Answer”.

An element that typically shows statistical information, such as the mean, standard deviation, or standard error.

Objects on which data can be recorded such as tape cartridges, optical disks, CD-R, DVD, diskettes, and cleaning cartridges.

An alternative name that is used when several names are required for an object. For example, a single multiple response variable translates into a number of separate variables in IBM SPSS .sav format. The subaliases are the names that are given to the variables in the IBM SPSS .sav file.

A Look that formats a portion of a compound question.

A component of a grid or numeric grid question. The subquestions in a grid and numeric grid question share the same category list.

A combination of two or more versions of the metadata. The versions are combined to form a superset, although when there is a conflict between, for example, a text in one or more of the versions, the more recent versions generally take precedence over the older versions.

Pertaining to a case-level status that is used to classify an interview that has not yet had all of the respondents’ answers entered as data. This status differs from the concept of the survey itself being incomplete in terms of the volume of responses or responses to specific questions.

A variable that contains information such as status of an interview, the ID of the interviewer, the serial number of the respondent, and so on.

A set of component objects that are used for creating market research tables.

A UNICOM Intelligence question that is used for the entry of open-ended data. See also response.

A variable that contains data that is text, such as names and addresses or responses to open-ended questions.

A seven-part value that consists of date and time. The timestamp is expressed in years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds, and fractional seconds.

A variable that combines the responses to two or more questions about brands that share a brand list. A total awareness variable typically combines the responses to questions that ask respondents to select their favorite brand, and which brands they can remember, first unprompted and then prompted.

A loop in which the maximum number of times that the loop can be iterated is unknown. This means that there is no upper limit to the number of times the questions in the loop can be asked. An unbounded loop cannot be defined as an expanded loop, and therefore grid tables cannot be created from an unbounded loop.

A character encoding standard that supports the interchange, processing, and display of text that is written in the common languages around the world, plus many classical and historical texts.

Pertaining to a metadata object that is not affected by version control, and can be changed at any time, regardless of the lock status of the current version.

In a weighted table, the actual number of recorded responses. In an unweighted table, the counts and unweighted counts are identical.

The collapsing of data from a lower level so that it can be represented at a parent level.

The checking of data or code for correctness or for compliance with applicable standards, rules, and conventions.

An entry by an operator that falls on or within the range of valid values that are configured during survey authoring. A valid entry enables the system to proceed to the next available variable or question for entry.

A specific attribute in the case data set that can pertain to a question or combination of questions, responses, and so on based on the question type. For example, a variable can represent a question on a printed questionnaire and store the responses to the question.

A change to the content of a project. Each time a project changes, for example, with the addition of new questions or categories, a new version can be generated.

A method that is used to reflect a target population more accurately than the actual figures do. For example, if a target population consists of 57% women and 43% men, but 50% women and 50% were surveyed, weighting can make the women's figures count for more than the men's figures, so that they more accurately reflect the gender distribution in the target population. See also weighting variable.

A table of single response categorical variables that are used to define a set of weighting requirements.